2019 has once again seen (and heard) Australian Blues players produce some of their finest work to date and Perth-based blues-rock guitarist Matty T Wall has thrown his hat into the ring with his latest release, Transpacific Blues Vol.1, which is a collection of some of Wall’s favourite tracks from yesteryear and which feature guest appearances from some of his modern day heroes. Matty T Wall has been carving up the live circuits with his scintillating performances and did his reputation no harm with his previous album, the outstanding ‘Sidewinder’ back in 2018, which showed him as a serious contender in the rock & blues scene. With Wall laying down the tracks in Western Australia he then reached out to some international & national heavy hitting icons, not knowing if he would even get a response – but he did and the results are plain to see, as each guitarist has put their indelible mark on the tracks that were selected.
2019 has once again seen (and heard) Australian Blues players produce some of their finest work to date and Perth-based blues-rock guitarist Matty T Wall has thrown his hat into the ring with his latest release, Transpacific Blues Vol.1, which is a collection of some of Wall’s favourite tracks from yesteryear and which feature guest appearances from some of his modern day heroes. Matty T Wall has been carving up the live circuits with his scintillating performances and did his reputation no harm with his previous album, the outstanding ‘Sidewinder’ back in 2018, which showed him as a serious contender in the rock & blues scene. With Wall laying down the tracks in Western Australia he then reached out to some international & national heavy hitting icons, not knowing if he would even get a response – but he did and the results are plain to see, as each guitarist has put their indelible mark on the tracks that were selected.
The album is a clear homage to some of the all-time legendary greats, as Wall has selected tracks by the likes of T-Bone Walker, Robert Johnson & Albert King. Matty starts us off with a rousing rendition of John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom, accompanied by Perth Slide Blues maestro Dave Hole, someone who Wall says has been a mentor & a great friend and has inspired him as a player throughout his career, especially with Hole coming from his home town. The guitar work is lip-smackingly tasty with Hole & Wall trading solos and getting us in the mood for some serious rock-blues action… and if this is the entrée for what’s to come then bring me the next seven courses.
We don’t have to wait long, as Eric ‘Raw Dawg’ Gales enters stage left to feature on Robert Higginbottom’s (a.k.a Tommy Tucker) 1963 song Hi-Heel Sneakers and he fires off one of the solos of the collection, with fingers of fire lighting up his fret board and with Matty showcasing his own skills with equal quality. Quicksand, which was originally recorded by Guitar Slim & His Band back in 1955 is an up-tempo boogie with guest duties carried out by former Mannish Boys & Fabulous Thunderbirds member Kid Ramon and he supplies some wonderful guitar tones to Wall’s crisp clean vocals. World renowned bluesman Walter Trout offers his incredible talents to She’s Into Something, which was originally recorded back in 1959 by the late Muddy Waters and to hear two guitarists with differing styles & techniques trading off with flawless precision is fantastic – some of my favourite guitar work on the album right here.
Stormy Monday is another track that has been recorded by some of the world’s top artists including Cream, The Allman Brothers Band, B.B King & Gary Moore and is a song that Matty T Wall has played in his live repertoire over the years, accompanied by his long time band comprising of Ric Whittle on drums & Stephen Walker on Bass and Wall’s version is just exquisite. Kirk Fletcher is another American blues guitarist who seems to have the world in the palm of his hand right now and his appearance on Born on the Bad Sign, which was written by Booker T. Jones & William Bell and recorded by Albert King in 1967, is another diamond amongst these bright gems. The album closes with the final two tracks played by Wall, Whittle & Walker and are in the form of Freddie King’s I’m Torn Down & Robert Johnson’s Crossroads, the latter of which has been wonderfully revamped with Whittle laying down an almost military marching snare beat which helps drive the song on as Wall lets loose on his six string, while delivering a differing style of vocal than the rest of the album and it works a treat.
When recording an album of covers, for me there have to be certain unwritten rules. Rule number one is to make sure the list of songs is a familiar one. Rule two, if you have guest players featuring then make sure people know who they are. And rule three, make sure you pull it off by putting your own twist on things. Matty T Wall’s Transpacific Blues Vol.1 does all this & much more and I for one can’t wait to see who is invited to play on Volume 2. This is a solid album to add to any blues collection.
TRACKLIST
Boom Boom (with Dave Hole)
Hi-Heel Sneakers (with Eric Gales)
Quicksand (with Kid Ramos)
She’s Into Something (with Walter Trout)
Stormy Monday
Born Under a Bad Sign (with Kirk Fletcher)
I’m Torn Down
Crossroads
